Virtual & Online Summer Programs Programs for High School Students

These summer programs programs are fully online, so students in any town — not just near a major university — can participate.

Virtual programs remove geography from the equation; selectivity and follow-through are all that separate you from applicants in Boston or the Bay Area.

18 verified programs match this page; 8 of the featured listings are completely free.

Featured programs

Browse 18+ curated programs for high school students:

  • College Greenlight Free and Low Cost Pre-College Programs — Apply College Greenlight: Curated directory of free and low-cost pre-college programs for high school students seeking affordable summer opportunities.
  • University of Toledo Cosmetic Science Summer Camp — University of Toledo: Virtual cosmetic and science formulation summer camp at the University of Toledo for rising sophomores through seniors.
  • Wake Forest University Pre-College Program — Wake Forest University: Pre-college online immersion program at Wake Forest University for students ages 13 and up.
  • Stevens Summer Pre-College Programs — Stevens Institute of Technology: STEM pre-college programs at Stevens Institute of Technology covering cybersecurity, VR, and engineering.
  • Pioneer Academics Research Program — Pioneer Academics: Online research program with one-on-one professor mentorship for high school students earning college credit.
  • Gotham Writers Workshop Teen Summer Classes — Gotham Writers Workshop: Six-week online and Zoom creative writing classes for teens (ages 13-17) from New York's Gotham Writers Workshop, running through the summer term. $33
  • Fleischer Scholars Program — W. P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University: Free virtual summer program from ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business for Arizona high school juniors - business and entrepreneurship career explorati
  • AU High School Summer Scholars — American University: Asynchronous online summer courses at American University (June 22-July 17, 2026) where rising sophomores-seniors earn real AU college credit in subje
  • Euler Circle Summer Classes — Euler Circle: Purely online summer classes in university-level mathematics for advanced high schoolers, including an independent research and paper-writing course.
  • Quantitative Finance: 4-Week Virtual Summer Research Experience — Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business: Four-week live virtual quant-finance program from Stevens School of Business (July 6-31, 2026, $2,500): rising juniors and seniors earn Bloomberg Mark
  • UMass Amherst Online Pre-College Programs — University of Massachusetts Amherst: Live online pre-college programs from UMass Amherst (June 29-July 31, 2026) in business, Python for physics, design, sport management, and more, with
  • IDEA MATH Summer Online Programs — IDEA MATH: Live online summer math intensives from IDEA MATH (June 28-August 11, 2026): the Online Math Challenges and Online Advanced Studies tracks each delive
  • Explore Engineering Innovation (Online) — Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering: Johns Hopkins' flagship pre-college engineering course in a fully online summer section (June 24-July 26, 2026): hands-on labs with shipped kits, coll
  • Non-Trivial Research Fellowship — Non-Trivial: Free, fully online 8-week summer research fellowship for pre-university students ages 14-20 worldwide. Fellows research a pressing global problem with
  • Qubit by Qubit Quantum Computing Summer Camp — The Coding School (Qubit by Qubit): Virtual quantum computing summer camp from nonprofit The Coding School: build quantum circuits in Python/Qiskit and run code on real quantum hardware.
  • Schoolhouse Summer Camp — Schoolhouse.world: Free virtual summer camp on Schoolhouse.world, the peer-tutoring nonprofit founded by Sal Khan. Teens 13+ join live, student-led sessions from July 1
  • Global Online Academy Summer Courses — Global Online Academy: Seven-week online summer courses (June 15-July 31, 2026) from Global Online Academy, a consortium of leading independent schools: 20+ subjects from en
  • AIMI Summer Health AI Bootcamp — Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging (AIMI): Two-week fully virtual bootcamp from Stanford's AIMI center introducing US high schoolers to machine learning in healthcare, with live lectures, codin

Frequently asked questions

How many virtual summer programs programs are listed for high school students?

ExtracurricularHub currently lists 18 verified virtual summer programs opportunities for high school students, each with cost, eligibility, deadline, and an official application link.

Are any of these virtual summer programs programs free?

Yes — 8 of the programs featured on this page charge no participation fee. Free programs are often funded and can be more selective, so apply early.

Which deadlines are coming up soonest?

The next deadlines: Pioneer Academics Research Program (March 1, 2027); Stevens Summer Pre-College Programs (June 15, 2027). Deadlines change every cycle — always confirm on the program's official site.

Do colleges value virtual programs as much as in-person ones?

Colleges care about what you did and what came of it, not the mailing address. A virtual research project or online internship with real output carries the same weight — and shows initiative if in-person options weren't available where you live.